If only you belonged to Noxus
by themagicwalrus
Summary: Will the Hand of Noxus reach out for something he doesn't fully understand or will he be forced to let it go for the sake of Noxus and potentially his own good?
1. Chapter 1

The mid-day sun shone brightly over the fields of Valoran that day. On any other day the Noxian general might have been able to enjoy it. Today he despised it. Without a cloud in the sky the sun's heat turned his armor into an oven. It was especially bad after a day like today. He was sure what remained of his men would say the same. They all stood around him, patiently waiting for his next move.

He took the time to survey the battlefield to see the extent of his victory. Roughly five hundred slain Demacians littered the fields on this beautiful day. Accompanying them however, were nearly twice as many Noxians. He shook his head in disappointment. Darius knew first hand that this bitter victory was not due to their enemy's strength. No, they were weak just as he had expected them to be. All of this was because of the creature that now lay unconscious before him. The cut on his left eye, the cracks and tears in his armor, the scorched earth all around him, and the death of over half his army all came from this wretched dragon.

As he examined the creature he took note of how big it actually was. During their battle he was more focused on taking the beast down than admiring it. The armor it wore no longer shined the crimson and gold as it had before. Instead it was cracked and beaten, worn heavily by the abuse of the day. Even more abused was the creature's body. Blood and dirt seemed to coat every part that wasn't wearing armor. On its left arm was a deep wound that was still bleeding heavily. It was the one that had finally brought it down. Really it was a combination of everything it had done and all the abuse it had taken throughout the battle, not just the wound itself. This particular cut was just the straw that broke the dragon's back.

Looking back the dragon had more influence on this battle than an entire Demacian army. Long after its last comrade had fallen, the beast refused to give up or turn tail. It faced the Noxians with strength only they could truly admire. Left and right it slaughtered them, setting ablaze to everything in its wake. Even after reaching its breaking point it refused to give up. Driven only by its rage it seemed the beast would not have stopped fighting until they were all dead. He had heard of their power before, but this dragon gave Darius a new-found respect for the species.

Eventually however, the beast did succumb to its injuries and fatigue and now, as it lay before him, its life was in the general's hands. Admittedly, he wished the beast could be persuaded but after how it fought today it was clear where its loyalty lie. There was no point in trying to make it the Noxian it deserved to be.

'_Such a waste.'_ he thought to himself as he raised his axe high above his head. '_Demacia did not deserve you…'_

The dragon then suddenly engulfed itself in flame once more. Instead of following through with the execution, Darius quickly lowered his axe and took a step back. If he learned anything from today, it was that every move a dragon makes should be considered deadly, especially if said dragon bursts into flames. He was a cold killer, not a blood thirsty one. His opportunity to strike will come. For now he was not going to take any chances. He readied himself for whatever the beast was about to throw at him.

When the flames died down however, there was no dragon.

All around him his men began to whisper, for a blue skinned woman had taken the dragon's place. Confused, Darius stepped closer to get a better look at the girl. With the exception of her helmet, which now lay further away, she wore all the same armor the beast had. Dirt and blood covered almost all of her body, but the parts of skin he could see barely looked like skin. It was rough and rigid. More like a dragon's hide than anything else. A thick braid of black hair rested to both sides of her face. They were to keep her hair out of the way during battle. He had seen men use this tactic before and judging by their size her hair had never met a pair of scissors.

Her face was not smooth and pampered like one he came to expect of a lady's. It was rough and strong like that of a worker's. Like someone who fought for every day that they lived. Darius liked that. He also noticed something else about her he liked. Beneath her eyes she had what he originally thought to be freckles. Looking closer however, he realized they were actually scales. But they added something that Darius couldn't quite explain. It was as if they "softened" her. Somehow they made her more like a woman than a monster. Truly she was nothing like Darius had ever seen before.

He knew that this change meant nothing. She was obviously the dragon that had slaughtered his men and now this… "Half-breed" was to pay for it.

When he is in battle, the hand of Noxus often listens to his instincts. Most of the time he calculates each move and makes sure that each blow is one that matters. But you cannot plan for everything, and it is in those instances where he cannot plan that his instincts get him out alive. He now stood before the half-dragon with her fate in his hands. He was bloody and beaten but he was in this situation because he listened to his instincts.

Now they were telling him not to kill the girl.

As he continued to stare at the scaled woman's face his mind slowly began to lose all traces of thought. He kept telling himself to kill her, but the voice in his head was far too quiet for his body to hear. Deep down something else was telling him not to do it. That voice was just loud enough for him to hear. It lacked logic and reason but it was the only thing he had. Maybe this would pay off later… or maybe there was something else there.

"Darius?"

For a moment, the Hand of Noxus had forgotten where he was and had gotten lost in his own thoughts. He did not need to turn around to know who it was that brought him back to the real world. His men were always hesitant when disrupting him out of fear he might lash out at them. His younger brother on the other hand could care less. He was the only one that did not see Darius as the powerful, ruthless general he had made of himself. All Draven saw was his older brother not paying enough attention to him. Like any one could ever give him enough…

"Soooo bro… you gonna kill the girl or what?" Draven so delicately put as he spun one of his flashy axes in his hand. The look on his face said he was bored and very tired of waiting.

"No."

His men who had gathered to watch the execution, all at once, seemed shocked and confused at his statement. After a short silence one soldier finally spoke up;

"Did you just say no!?"

"But she deserves to die!" a second said with anger. They were all now starting to state their opinion about the situation but it was hard for Darius to make out when they all spoke at once.

"Why won't you kill her!?" one soldier yelled over the rest. The crowd then grew silent as they waited for their general's answer.

"Why _aren't_ you going to kill her? Let me guess, you wanted your bro, _Draven,_ to show you how it's done?" the big head asked with honest curiosity, and a hint of his usual narcissism. Only a hint though.

"No, Draven" Darius said slightly irritated, "No one will kill this woman today."

All at once his men began to make their opinion of the situation very clear if they hadn't before. He didn't have to understand what they were yelling, it was clear they didn't agree with his decision. To be honest he did not blame them. The half-dragon had single handedly crippled his forces, killing many of these men's comrades. One soldier with bright red hair then stepped forward and faced the mob.

"Do not listen to him! He has fallen for the half-breed's tricks! She is not a woman! We will not let such a vile beast live! Let us execute her our-"

_**KSH**_

The sound was sickening and brought with it a welcomed silenced. The soldier who had spoken out against Darius' decision fell to his knees and then face first into the scorched earth. A large axe wedged deep into his back. The other soldiers looked to Darius, with new-found obedience, patiently waiting for what he had to say.

"Do not question my decision again. Now go gather the wounded; we leave for Noxus at sunrise." His tone, cold and dominant, sent shivers down his men's spines. He allowed them to speak their minds, but attempting to disregard his orders was unacceptable.

Without hesitation his men quickly began the preparations.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Draven was giving him a smirk, but not his usual one. This one was surprisingly far more obnoxious than what was normally on his face.

"What?"

"Oh nothing…" Draven replied with a cocky tone, shrugging like the innocent bystander he pretended to play the part of. "I just think I know what you are thinking. If you know what I mean.

"I don't…"

"Riiiiighhhhttt," he said, adding a not so subtle wink before turning on his heel to walk away. "I'll get it out of you bro, you'll see. Oh, by the way nice throw. Put a little more wrist in it and you might just be able to throw like me. _Might_"

His brother was obnoxious to say the least. But Darius had other, more important things to worry about than that cocky airhead. What would his excuse in his reports be for leaving the dragon alive? His men would no doubt be talking about it later so there was no denying it happened. He also had to make sure to keep them in check. They would be talking about it a lot, and another might get the bright idea to follow in the red haired soldier's footsteps. He could not allow such a thing to happen again.

It was then that his thoughts were interrupted once more, but this time by a faint cough from behind him. It was the half dragon. Darius wasn't surprised she was starting to stir. It seemed the only thing that would keep her down for long would be death. Why she wasn't a Noxian was beyond him. Before she could even open her eyes, her whole body began to wince with pain. Her gasps for air were desperate and unsettling. Darius thought that at this moment she might actually die. As she began to clinch her teeth together another thought came to him. Perhaps she was weaker in this state. Her dragon form could probably handle the pain she was in better. Then again she may just be overwhelmed by the sudden rush of it all. Still, she was conscious and that's more than he could say about most men who would have been in her situation.

"Half-Breed, are you awake?" He asked, when he saw that her eyes were slowly opening again. The question was completely rhetorical, more of an excuse to talk to her if he was being honest with himself.

The look he received from her made him regret that decision. As she turned her head to look at him he fully expected a set of eyes to meet his. Instead, his met with two black holes, burning with a hatred he could not fathom. With a second wind she rolled on her stomach and attempted to stand. But it was apparent her body wasn't going to let her. She got as far as holding herself up on her elbow before she flopped back down to the ground with a thud. It was adding insult to injury at this point but she was not going to give up. Her body trembled on her second attempt, desperately pleading her to stop. The meaning of the word clearly lost to her. Finally she managed to hold herself up on her elbows with her head tilted upwards at the Noxian general. Her eyes still burned with hatred as sweat rolled down her face. It was a small action, but it was impressive given the state she was in. He was convinced; this was the strongest woman he had ever met. No, the strongest person he had ever met.

"Do not…call me…a half-breed" she wheezed out between her sharp clinched teeth.

Darius was a little caught off guard by her statement. Not only was it odd she was giving orders in her state, but of all things… that was what she had to say.

"Very well." he replied to her. Not quite sure what else to say. The silence that followed was uncomfortable and nerve-racking. The half dragon never once breaking her cold gaze, both eyes fixed on Darius as if he would attack her the moment she looked away.

He turned to retrieve his axe. Any more of this awkwardness would surely kill him. His stomach already felt like he had been poisoned. Churning and twisting into what felt like a thousand knots. It was a feeling he was not used to and did not enjoy. With one foot on his victim's back and both hands on the axe's handle, he pulled his blade free with ease. The sound that followed was like pulling a suction cup from glass. It was sickening but it was welcomed compared to the thick silence that surrounded them. Just then he thought he heard her say something. He didn't hear what it was however. He looked to her hoping she would repeat it. Her head was down, sweat and blood dripping in rhythm with her desperate attempts to catch her breath. Perhaps she didn't say anything. It didn't look like she had the energy too.

"I have spared your life today, I cannot guarantee it will happen a second time." He calmly told her. She looked up at him with the same eyes from before and responded with a vicious hiss. Even if she looked more human it would have been evident she was half animal. Even so, he could not help but make a note of how beautiful her eyes were. They were reptilian, but there was something about them. They didn't feel shallow or empty. They felt full and determined, like she was her honest self at all times. It was hard for him to explain, even to himself.

Without another word he turned to head to camp. Looking at this woman was toxic. He had to get away so he could think straight. As he walked he could not help himself, and stole one last look before he was too far away. She was out like a light, now lying on her side as she did before. Not sure if he actually spared her life or not he turned to continue his walk. It was best if she died here and now anyways. So why did he not wish to kill her? He would contemplate it later, for now he had to get something for his stomach. He was sure he had been poisoned.

* * *

><p><strong>I don't like author's notes so I will make this quick and simple. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. This is my first story period, so I'm sorry about any spelling errors or grammatical mistakes I inevitably made. I worked really hard on this and tried to avoid them but I'm human. I really appreciate constructive criticism. The other chapters are not finished but the story is already planned out. Much More will happen in the following chapters. Again thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed it and will stick around. <strong>


	2. Chapter 2

Footsteps. She could hear footsteps… and men talking. They sounded distraught about something, she wasn't sure; it was hard to tell what they were saying. She wanted to look and see who they were but it was difficult for her to move, everything on her body ached with enormous pain. Suddenly she felt pressure on the back of her neck; someone was trying to pick her up.

"She's alive, but barely. You two! Get over here she needs immediate attention!" The voice shouted, as the half dragon winced with pain.

"Jarvan?" she muttered as she attempted to open her eyes. To her dismay however, it was not the prince of Demacia holding her head up.

"I'm afraid not Shyvana, he is staying back for his own safety." Garen stated scooping her up off the ground and setting her onto something soft but firm. "These men will take you back to camp. Rest, you fought well."

'_Of course it wasn't Jarvan' _she thought to herself as the sway of the stretcher gently rocked her, her eyelids growing too heavy to keep open.

'_It's never Jarvan' _

* * *

><p>It was impossible. As if they weren't difficult enough to complete by themselves, Darius couldn't focus on his reports with that thing in the back of his mind. Its constant tapping reminding him that it was there. He had to do something about it, trying to ignore it obviously wasn't working, he had to take action.<p>

"DRAVEN! Knock it off!" shouted Darius, slamming his fist onto his desk as he turned to face the source of his newly forming migraine.

"Oh I'm sorry Darius, am I bothering you?" said the youngest blood brother, continuing to drum on the backrest of his own chair. "I thought maybe you wanted to listen to some tunes while you worked."

"Draven, you know damn well what you are doing. Don't play dumb."

"I don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about," responded Draven, failing horribly at trying to seem innocent, "but since you aren't working now I say you and I have a little chat. What do you say?"

He had been like this ever since they got back to camp, refusing to let Darius work until he had this "chat" with him, even going as far as to invade his private tent… and never leaving it. Darius turned back to his reports, praying this would be the time his brother would let it go and he'd be able to finish, even though he seriously doubted it.

"Come on bro don't ignore me! You know what this is about!" yelled Draven as he stood up from his chair, dramatically pointing at Darius like the accused in a Noxian courtroom.

The truth was, Darius knew exactly what it was he wanted to talk about; that stupid half-dragon. There was nothing else to say however. He let her live and that was that. It's not like he could explain things when he didn't know why he did it in the first place. There was nothing to talk about or say to his brother. He couldn't ignore him however, that was painfully obvious.

"Draven look, it's best if we just drop it and let it go. She's probably dead now anyways. There wasn't much left of her when we left."

"Wasn't much left of who? What are you talking about?" said Draven with more than a hint of confusion.

Darius looked back over his shoulder, even more puzzled than his brother was. "What are you talking about then?"

"I was talking about you throwing your axe at that soldier today! With a little practice you could be really good at it! I say you and I ditch this military thing and find our own glory out of it; Draven and Darius, the blood brothers of Noxus!" Draven said while attempting to create his mental image for Darius to see using hand gestures and pretending to be a crowd chanting _Draven! Draven! _Darius, all the while, was attempting to remove his headache by rubbing his temples. '_I'm related to this idiot_,' he thought to himself.

As he did so, Darius felt the gauss wrapped around his head. He had almost forgotten it was even there. He knew he had taking a beating during the battle from earlier that day, but the nurse acted as though he was lucky to be alive. Wrapped around his whole chest, forehead, and left bicep the bandages she applied made him feel like he was something Noxus brought back from Shurima. Worst of all, he wasn't wearing his armor any longer. He didn't need it at their camp sure, but Darius hated feeling exposed. Then again it wasn't like his armor could do much anymore. That half-dragon had turned it into scrap metal.

He couldn't help himself; he found her face drifting into his thoughts. He wondered if he would ever see those powerful eyes of hers again, or those beautiful freckles beneath them. The last he saw of her, she was presumably passed out, lying on her side. She could have died then and there for all he knew. He wasn't sure, but he thought he felt regret for leaving her there. It wasn't a feeling he was used to… It was terrible.

"Bro are you even listening!?"

"Hunh? Yeah sure whatever," Darius mumbled realizing he had drifted off into his own thoughts. He had done that a lot lately.

"Thinking about that pretty girl aren't you?" Draven said mockingly.

Darius tried not to let it get to him, but it angered him far more than it should have. He knew he was just teasing but maybe he was at his breaking point; Draven had annoyed him practically all day, truthfully ever since he came out of the womb.

"Draven, Drop it," he said coldly without looking away from his paperwork.

"I know its hard bro, but you can't go soft for the ladies, especially that one. There are plenty of normal, non-Demacian, non-dragon women back home."

"Draven, knock it off."

"Then again I'm not sure you are what they are looking for. Ladies like a man who's tough, strong, and rocks a mean mustache… like _me," _Draven said, with all the modesty he had in him, while he examined himself in a hand mirror that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Truly baffled, he wasn't sure such a statement deserved a response. Darius was now convinced however, that Draven was adopted.

"I assure you, I have not gone soft. Next time I see her I will finish what I started." Darius said as sternly as he could after a brief and awkward silence, trying to convince Draven, and himself, that he meant what he said.

"I have no doubt that you are telling the truth," said Draven finally looking away from his mirror and back towards his brother. "In fact, what would you say if I could get you a second chance as soon as sayyy… tonight?" The smirk he gave Darius said he was up to something… something big.

"What do you mean a second chance?"

"A second chance to meet the half-dragon again of course."

"And how would you accomplish this exactly?" Darius responded now more interested in what Draven had to say than he had been the entire night.

"Let's just say that while we were out fighting our scouts were able to locate the Demacian's camp… and it's huge. We are talking a five-star resort."

"Are you saying-"

"Yep. Demacian royalty," Draven said with an even larger smirk on his face than he had before.

Finally his brother proved to be more than a narcissistic pain in his butt. With Demacian royalty nearby he could claim a victory for Noxus that would inevitably be written in history. More importantly he would find out if the girl survived or not.

The problem was that he didn't have the man power to take on an army like that. His men could handle another battle, they were Noxians, the real problem was the size of his forces compared to theirs. He was not going to risk his entire force for a chance to see the half-dragon they despised. Oh, and glory or whatever… Maybe he and his brother could handle the situation themselves however.

"You and I will leave with the second shift of scouts tonight. Just you and I, understand?" Darius said, unable to hide the smirk now on his face.

"I like the way you think bro," Darius said with a wink, "The blood brothers of Noxus against the Prince of Demacia! What a show!"

* * *

><p>Even though his eyes were well-adjusted it was difficult to see much detail in the Demacian's camp from where they were positioned. Their scouts had managed to find a little hill that was just high enough to look over the camp but its distance and how dark it was made it hard to make out much of anything. He could however make out the basic outlines of objects and people, especially the large tent in the center of everything. It wasn't just large, it was huge, and presumably their target. Where else would a prince stay?<p>

"Do you see that large tent in the center?"

"Yeah I was just looking at it, that's our target for sure." Darius said, not even thinking twice about who asked him that question.

"And what's your plan for getting to it?" the woman's voice said gingerly and playfully.

"As much as I hate to say it, we are going to have to use stealth. The camp is far larger than I thought which-" Realizing it was not his brother speaking to him he whipped his head to his left, towards the source of this mysterious voice. To his surprise he was greeted by a pair of flirtatious green eyes and a playful grin he knew too well.

"Took you long enough tough guy," she giggled while tucking her red hair behind her ear. "By the look on your face I'd say you had no idea I was even here at all did you?"

"Katarina, what are you doing here?"

"You are asking me why I'm here? At a campsite with Jarvan, Garen, Shyvana, and 2 of Demacia's top generals all in one place? Of course I'm going to be here. What's more surprising is that you didn't expect me to be here." She said while turning to Draven, who was on his side with his head resting in one hand and his other arm resting on his raised knee, attempting to use his natural charm on the sinister blade. If her first gag didn't make it clear she wasn't interested the second one did.

"Shyvana?" said Darius curiously.

"That's the prince's pet dragon, I believe you met her earlier today," she said with her hand on the side of her face trying to block out any site of Draven blowing kisses at her.

Her name was Shyvana. It was so exotic and strong… it suited her perfectly… He really liked that name.

"Shyvana…" he muttered aloud once more to himself. Katarina couldn't help but replace her disgusted look with a large grin when she saw the hand of Noxus drift off into his own thoughts, unable to mask her delight at the situation.

"So the rumors are true then aren't they?" she said playfully, giving the Noxian general a playful punch on his arm.

"Rumors? What Rumors" he said breaking free from his own thoughts.

"Oh nothing, just that a certain one of the Noxian blood brothers had developed feelings for a certain half dragon and let her live despite her nearly crushing his army single-handedly is all… nothing big"

"I'm only interested in a certain red-head lying next to me now… and possibly later tonight," Draven butted in, playing with his mustache and blowing another kiss to Katarina.

"How are there rumors? That happened just today!?" Darius said, ignoring his brother and all of his obnoxiousness.

"So you admit you have feelings for her then?"

"No. I meant-"

"I know what you meant don't get your panties in a bunch. Word travels fast in our little circle. It's best if you know that now. You can't get away with anything," she responded with a serious, yet somehow still playful tone, the smirk never leaving her face.

It didn't take a Piltover scientist to know she was hinting at something to him, but he let it go. If her circle really does have the influence she hints at, then it would be best for him not to try to pry to deep. He didn't like it, but he knew it was the smart thing to do. Still he kept it in the back of his mind; whatever it was, she couldn't say it directly.

After a brief silence Katarina stood up and yawned loudly. "If we are done here talon and I have a job to do. If you are coming along try to keep up, we aren't going to wait for you."

Without a word Talon stood up from the other side of Darius; apparently he had been lying there with them the whole time. With a quick wink from Kat, she and the hooded figure ran down the hill straight for the camp, no fear of getting caught whatsoever. Darius turned to his brother only to find him hot on their trail. Not a hundred percent on this idea, Darius followed anyways, hoping they all knew something he didn't.

As he got closer to the site, he realized there were no guards on this side. He saw them all along the camp's edge earlier as he and his scouts snuck into their position. Something wasn't right about any of this. Darius wasn't going to follow blindly anymore, his instincts told him otherwise. As Kat and Talon ran past the first set of tents, he grabbed Draven by the arm and pulled him back.

"Draven does the fact there are no guards seem weird to you?" He whispered.

"Oh come on bro! Did you see that girl?"

"Yes I did, and short of being LeBlanc she is the worst woman to put your faith into."

"Just you wait and see, we got this," Draven said with wink before he got up and went back to running after the two.

"_Idiot,"_ Darius thought to himself.

As he surveyed his surroundings he realized there was nobody on this side of the camp. He peered in several tents, only to find empty cots and nothing more. No soldiers, no armor or weapons, just a cot in the middle of each one. His suspicions only worsened.

Still he ventured further inside the base, much more cautiously than the others, making sure to check around every corner and be as silent as possible. Stealth wasn't his strong suit; he preferred to outdo his opponent one on one on the battlefield, but he also preferred doing the strategically right thing, and this, by far, was the smarter option.

It was a good thing his armor was turned to scrap, he thought to himself, it was hard enough to be sneaky without it. With that thought, he came up with a brilliantly obvious idea, if he was wearing Demacian armor, he might just be able to walk around more freely and not have to sneak around. The only problem was that every tent was empty and there wasn't a Demacian in sight, so where was he going to find some?

Eventually he came to a tent that was slightly larger than the rest and had a sign stuck in the ground in front of it that read "Storage."As he got closer, he could hear someone inside, he couldn't tell what they were doing but it sounded like chanting? Realizing that in the rush of things he left his axe on the hill, he cursed himself for being so stupid and approached the tent more cautiously than he was before. Peering inside through the small slit in the opening he could see desks and chairs piled high with all sorts of other things shoved into the mix. It looked like something you would see in an attic, not the military. Perhaps these were the prince's personal belongings? It didn't seem right to him, then again none of this did.

As he peered further in the tent he saw the source of the noise inside… and he about killed him. Draven was admiring himself in a full body mirror, posing and whispering '_Draven_' to himself.

"Draven, for the love of all that is Noxus, what the hell are you doing?" Darius whispered rather loudly, his rage not being subtle in the least.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he said, not once looking away from the mirror.

Darius was sure that if he explained the situation to mother, she would understand why he killed his brother. She might even thank him.

"Draven" Darius said with a newly forming imprint of his palm on his forehead, "Where are the others?

"Who? Oh you mean the smoking hot red-head? Not too sure. I saw this handsome guy and just couldn't resist," Draven said, winking at his reflection.

He was going to kill him, Darius thought to himself.

"Oh bro, Talon told me to let you know the infirmary is uh… close by. I think he said 2 rows toward the center or something? I wasn't paying attention"

"The infirmary?" Darius asked playing dumb. The truth was that he had kept an eye out for it, hoping that he may just find Shyvana inside.

"I'm not sure why I'm just passing along the message," said Draven nonchalantly as he flexed in the mirror.

"There is something wrong with you Draven."

"You better believe it, why am I not on the stage for all to see? It's a tragedy!"

Refusing to respond, Darius looked around for something useful; a sword, armor, a disguise, really anything at this point. He checked in just about everything he could find until, to his surprise, in one of the chests he did find Demacian armor and lots of it. Even more of a surprise was that every single one was the exact same and they all seemed to be in his size. The helmets, not so much… they were just a little tight but it was better than nothing. Taking one last look at his brother before he left, he realized Draven wasn't going to leave that mirror. _'He'll be fine'_ he thought to himself

Now able to walk more freely, Darius felt a little more at ease, especially since he could now see other soldiers, three of them to be exact. Which, he thought to himself, was not the correct response when behind enemy lines. He also noticed his armor was different from theirs; it was more flashy and decorative. He just assumed the Demacians were concerned about how they looked in it, he wouldn't put it pass them.

All of them were odd-looking men. One was short and fat and the other two could have been twins, but one had a larger nose and the other was a little ganglier. It was hard to tell, but it didn't really matter. They were all gathered around a small fire in a large opening among the tents, their swords laying on the ground next o them instead of at the ready like they should have been. If they called him out he would be able to silence them with ease.

To his relief, as he approached the Demacians all three of them jumped up and saluted him. This armor must have been a higher ranking officer's; it certainly explained its décor.

"At ease men, I am only seeking the infirmary." Darius said with authority, having more than enough practice with his own men.

"It's a rather large camp isn't it sir?" the soldier with a large nose said with a smile. Darius continued to stare, not amused by the statement. The shorter soldier elbowed the one who had just spoken in the ribs, telling him to get on with it. "Right, uhhh…it's that tent right there," he said pointing to a rather large tent just to the right of where they were.

Without another word Darius strode forth towards the tent. Before entering however, he felt a sudden wave of nerves hit him. What if she wasn't in there, and she did die right there in front of him? Or worse, what if she was there and recognized him? He shook his head, attempting to rid the thoughts and nerves from it. He didn't like them and he sure as hell wasn't going to let them stop him. He took one last deep breath and walked through the opening.

There, on the last bed on the left side, she was there; awake and very much alive. Darius let go of the breath he didn't know he was holding in relief. A nurse who had just gotten done doing a checkup on Shyvana saw him and waved him over. A little caught off guard, he did as he was commanded and approached the two.

"Captain Darius, it's so good to see you again." The nurse said genuinely, much to Darius' surprise.

"And to you as well." He played along, now more suspicious than ever at everything that was happening tonight.

"I'll leave you two alone for now I'm sure you both have important stuff to discuss that's well above my pay grade." She giggled, getting up from her chair and grabbing all of her stuff. As she walked past Darius she said something just below a whisper, so quiet that he almost missed it, "You did the correct thing, not killing his pet."

He turned to look at her but she was already on her way out the entrance. Something big was going to happen. Kat and Talon, no soldiers, a captain's uniform that fit him perfectly, a nurse who knew his name and what he had done; all of this was planned out. He was nothing more than a pawn in something… but what?

"Well?"

The voice made his heart leap nearly out of his throat. As he turned to look at the blue skinned woman, he noticed that her eyes were already fixed on him, the rage from before replaced by a cold nothingness. He mindlessly walked closer to her, trying to by some time while he thought of something to say.

"Did you just come to gawk at me?" she said with a hint of anger when Darius didn't respond right away.

"No, I came here to check up on you… by Jarvan. Jarvan sent me." He said, mentally slapping himself for such a stupid remark.

"Leave." She said coldly after a brief silence, turning to lay on her side with her back to him. Clearly he did not say the right thing.

"Does your taunting amuse you so much that you would ignore orders?" She spat out at him when he didn't turn to leave.

"Shyvana-"

"Jarvan would not send someone to check up on me," she said turning back around to face him; "you and I both know that." The rage was there again, but it was much different than it was before. It was a more cold and bitter hate.

"Honestly, I came to see if you were okay for myself," he said truthfully to her. Perhaps the first time he admitted to himself out loud that he wished to see her.

"Why would you? I have never seen you before?" she said now examining him more than before, "Have I?"

"Shyvana listen, I'm not-" said Darius, interrupting his own sentence; all of his thoughts vanished the instant his eyes met hers.

Breaking the thick silence between them, a soldier burst through the entrance yelling, "Captain! Quickly! The prince's tent is under attack!"

Doing his best to play along, Darius ran after the soldier who called out to him. As he got to the entrance, he looked back over his shoulder to steal one last look at the girl.

He knew from the look on her face she realized who he was, as much as he wanted to he couldn't stay any longer.

Ignoring her plea to wait, he rushed outside with the soldier who had called to him. What greeted him only confirmed his suspicions. He was nothing more than a pawn in a game that was far greater than he knew.


End file.
